One of the most respected behavioral economists in the world and coauthor of the "best economics blog in the universe"* offers an essential guid...
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reviews
Nov 03, 2011
Greg
rated it: 
This book was a relatively quick read. However, it veered wildly from what I expected.
The following quote from the preface is what I thought the book would be about.
The following quote from the preface is what I thought the book would be about.
In down times people exercise more, eat out less and cook more, and engage in more projects for self improvement and self education. Usage at public libraries is up and people are spending more time on the internet; once you’ve paid for your connection most of the surfing is free. These trends are more impoMore...
May 29, 2011
Bob
rated it: 
A very interesting book! Cowen explains human diversity in terms of our neurology, explaining that there are a lot of positive aspects of the autistic spectrum, that autistics receive a bad rap in contemporary culture. Education, he points out, is organized to teach us to focus and remember information, which are two autistic traits. Cowen goes way beyond education to show how autistic traits would be helpful for all us to understand better. By paying attention to our neuro-diversity, we will b
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Nov 17, 2010
Ryan
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Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World is decidedly the wrong name for this book. The author or publisher must have come to a similar conclusion: when the book went into paperback its name was changed to The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy. While headed in a good direction, that is still the wrong name for the book.
This is a fascinating book about the strengths of the autistic brain, curiously in the guise of a much less intere More...
This is a fascinating book about the strengths of the autistic brain, curiously in the guise of a much less intere More...
Nov 07, 2010
Peter
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This felt like two books in one. The first is about information in the ever-evolving digital age. The second is about neurodiversity and the cognitive strengths of people on the autism spectrum. The two are related because Cowen sees the traits of Autism Spectrum Disorders (specifically Asperger's Syndrome) in the way that information is being ordered. Increased specialization and an emphasis on categorization are the first chapter, while chapter 2 is about the various ways autism is not what yo
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Mar 10, 2010
Is this author looking for "altered states"? This book is not like most books that are now being published in that it had something to say for 200+ pages. An editor is present but the punctuation is often wrong and multiple times the text unnecessarily repeats.
I did not know that Roget of Thesaurus fame was a mathematician and created log-logs? I did not know that a Diritos advert was beemed into the sky in 2008.
Did the author get into the evolutionary value of autis More...
I did not know that Roget of Thesaurus fame was a mathematician and created log-logs? I did not know that a Diritos advert was beemed into the sky in 2008.
Did the author get into the evolutionary value of autis More...
Dec 10, 2011
Bob
rated it: 
This book should be titled "Why Asperger's Syndrome is an apt analogy for how to cope with the digital economy." It has a LOT of material about Asperger's designed to correct people's preconceived stereotypes that Asperger's is necessarily a bad thing. AS has good sides, and those good sides provide a strategy for how people can cope in a world of blindingly fast change and massive informational overload. Got it. Other than a newfound respect for Asperger's, I didn't get much from
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Jan 09, 2010
Howard
rated it:
Not really about economics or the economy in a macro or micro sense. This is really about trends in knowledge: how we gather it, how we organize it, how we experience it. Cowan's theory is that the web and other social media are changing how we think and how we encounter the world. "Create your own economy" actually means "create your own life" without the mediating hand of corporate and political gatekeepers. This is, alternatively a visionary and eccentric work; eccentric b
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Nov 14, 2010
Evan
rated it:
The revised title "The Age of the Infovore" is a better fit considering the subject matter. I would say the most interesting chapters are "Why Modern Culture is Like Marriage, in All Its Glory" and "Beauty Isn't What You Think It Is." "Beauty Isn't What You Think It Is" argues (among other things) that because there is such a wide range of cognitive specialties, beauty cannot be objective. Furthermore, individuals' different cognitive specialties helps
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Sep 12, 2010
Ninakix
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This book was interesting, but I was pretty disappointed when about halfway through the book I realized the book had trailed off from the topics that had been most interesting to me - how we begin to organize and understand information in the context of our relatively new access to information. I expected a little more depth and detail into what "mental ordering" might actually look like, and different examples of ordinary people undertaking this activity. Instead, this book focuses on
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Oct 25, 2009
Noah
rated it:
Cowen might be my favorite public intellectual, to the extent that he qualifies. He thinks and writes unlike anyone else I've read, and unlike most of his peers, I consider him to be genuinely open-minded. He doesn't have a tired shtick or an agenda, and when he starts taking me (as a reader) down a path, I have no idea where he's headed. That's very rare. This book has plenty of those moments. I won't even try to explain what it's about, in part because I'm still not sure, but I enjoyed it, lea
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Aug 29, 2009
Frank
rated it:
Cowen's advice on blogging:
"Usually a blog will fail if the blogger doesn't post every day or at least every weekday. People don't like the idea of visiting the blog and coming away empty-handed. . . . once a blog disappoints I classify the site as a "NO" . . .. In my emotional universe the site no longer exists for me." (Create Your Own Economy, 45-6)
And here's a darker view of the same phenomenon:
http://www.slate.com/id/2224932/pagenum/... More...
"Usually a blog will fail if the blogger doesn't post every day or at least every weekday. People don't like the idea of visiting the blog and coming away empty-handed. . . . once a blog disappoints I classify the site as a "NO" . . .. In my emotional universe the site no longer exists for me." (Create Your Own Economy, 45-6)
And here's a darker view of the same phenomenon:
http://www.slate.com/id/2224932/pagenum/... More...
Nov 05, 2009
Ashley
rated it:
This was not exactly what I thought it would be about, but kind of interesting nonetheless, especially after reading "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell a few days ago. Cowen uses the word "economy" in its broadest sense, not just in terms of money, which is how most people normally think about it. Essentially, he introduces methods of ordering one's mind (or one's Facebook page) that many autistic people use. Strange, right? Kind of. He suggests that autistic ways of reasonin
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Sep 13, 2009
Lynn
rated it:
I've thought about many of the ideas in this book since reading it. They are interesting.
The primary point is that in today's information society the "autistic" ability to organize data in a way that serves a personal narrative is an important cultural change that can be worthwhile and fulfilling for those that can do it well.
I almost gave the book 2 stars because although there were a lot of interesting ideas in the book, I had a hard time maintaining interest More...
The primary point is that in today's information society the "autistic" ability to organize data in a way that serves a personal narrative is an important cultural change that can be worthwhile and fulfilling for those that can do it well.
I almost gave the book 2 stars because although there were a lot of interesting ideas in the book, I had a hard time maintaining interest More...
Apr 25, 2010
Austin
rated it: 
Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics and a prolific blogger. A reader of his blog wrote him an e-mail and suggested that he may be on the autistic spectrum. This book starts as a suggestion that many successful people have autistic traits and becomes a meandering essay on literature, politics, music, religion and the internet and the relationship of those aspects of culture with autism. Be aware if you read the book that he is not referring to autism as a medical pathology, but rather as a se
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Aug 27, 2009
Mike
rated it: 
This books had potential that ultimately wasn't met. It's too bad, because the main idea that we are able to create our own cheaper forms of entertainment is lost in the author's overdose of autism love. I'm all for autistic people, but this book had more to do with describing and discussing autistic characteristics than it did economics. I wish it had been shelved in the autism section as that would be a more appropriate home for it. I do NOT recommend it for people interested in economics,
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Mar 10, 2011
Sam
rated it:
Cool book, deceptive title.
I heard Cowen speak on Econtalk (www.econtalk.org) a number of times but had never read anything by him; when I saw this at the library I grabbed it, thinking it was some sort of economic self-help guide. Far from it! It's an extended meditation on how the cognitive strengths often exhibited by people on the autism spectrum are well-suited to success in today's information-centric, decentralized economy. I think there's much to what he says, though he may More...
I heard Cowen speak on Econtalk (www.econtalk.org) a number of times but had never read anything by him; when I saw this at the library I grabbed it, thinking it was some sort of economic self-help guide. Far from it! It's an extended meditation on how the cognitive strengths often exhibited by people on the autism spectrum are well-suited to success in today's information-centric, decentralized economy. I think there's much to what he says, though he may More...
Nov 06, 2011
Anthony
rated it:
Honestly I don't think I got as much out of this book as I thought I would. I liked the discussion on Autism and how behavior during the information age is reflexive of this ordering aspect. I did think his discussion on Sherlock Holmes is worth reading (the more interesting part being the discussion of Holmes brother). Additionally, those who deal with autism either with their own children, themselves or in their professions could easily have issues with the book insofar as I don't feel the
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Sep 15, 2009
Aaron
rated it:
Based on the title, I thought it'd be more explicitly pop-economic, like, for example, a Tim Harford book, or something more along the lines of Cowen's previous effort. What it is, however, didn't disappoint me. Cowen's economics informs what really is a loose discussion on technology, neurodiversity and the culture of information. Cowen is interested in autism in particular. He wants to cast thinkers in the autistic mold not as strange and barely useful, but rather as people who's data-saturate
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Oct 24, 2009
Andy
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So, I broke my generalized ban on nonfiction to read this one. The reasons were two-fold: (1) the basic topic as I understood it (how the modern world is changing our consumption of information, etc.) sounded interesting to me, and (2) I read and enjoy Cowen's blog and I usually take whatever opportunities I get to "pay" for the things on the internet that I really enjoy.
I wasn't disappointed at all, and I am even going to give this five stars (five! totally destroying my s More...
I wasn't disappointed at all, and I am even going to give this five stars (five! totally destroying my s More...
Sep 03, 2009
Gavin
rated it:
This book is very interesting. I have learned the following from this book:
When economies are bad, people become more creative in finding cheaper ways to entertain themselves. They are usually happier because of it.
Autistics have several cognitive strengths such as mental ordering of Tiny bits of information
The web influences people to find pleasure through mental ordering activities
Autism is a diverse form of cognition and should be celebrated and understood.
The More...
When economies are bad, people become more creative in finding cheaper ways to entertain themselves. They are usually happier because of it.
Autistics have several cognitive strengths such as mental ordering of Tiny bits of information
The web influences people to find pleasure through mental ordering activities
Autism is a diverse form of cognition and should be celebrated and understood.
The More...
Jun 23, 2011
Chris
rated it:
An interesting book that discusses the cognitive traits of autistics and relates them to things like the internet, Facebook, Twitter, the IPod, politics, and other subjects. The idea is that these technologies allow us to impose our own order on things that were previously ordered for us (e.g. MP3 files versus CDs) and the desire to impose order and classification on things are autistic traits. The discussion of the strengths of autistic traits was interesting as well as the discussion about h
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Jun 09, 2011
Justin
rated it:
This book sucked. Hard.
I was pissed because I love Marginal Revolution. But this was a bunch of pandering to people who think they might have Aspergers. There are barely relevant cultural examples (why ever address the completeness of Sufjan Stevens' lazy 50 states project?) and too much hand wringing about how autistic people are awesome.
It's a real shame. I love his blog posts, but this book is weak and there's no reason to read it.
I was pissed because I love Marginal Revolution. But this was a bunch of pandering to people who think they might have Aspergers. There are barely relevant cultural examples (why ever address the completeness of Sufjan Stevens' lazy 50 states project?) and too much hand wringing about how autistic people are awesome.
It's a real shame. I love his blog posts, but this book is weak and there's no reason to read it.
Aug 05, 2009
Christina
rated it:
Please don't waste your time with this book! It looked interesting enough, but unless you've been hiding under a rock the last ten years, it is quite redundant. It includes a recap of the history of the internet and social networking. I got lost when the second and third chapters starting focusing on the author's fascination with autism- puzzling tangent. Returned this one to the library ASAP.
Jan 27, 2010
Gabi
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Cowen makes the case that living inside your own head can be a pretty good life, especially if you live in a free and prosperous society. Then he makes the case that free and prosperous societies are built by people who are good at living inside their own heads. I liked the bit about the autism conventions, where some participants' name tags clearly read that the holder does not wish to be approached. Those should be available everywhere.
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Sep 15, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
This title was very misleading. He never defines what he means by "create your own economy." He spends a lot of time talking about the cognitive strengths of people with autism and how these strengths could benefit the rest of us in a media-rich, information-saturated society. He makes an argument that the internet and digital technology is not sapping our attention or making us more distractible; he undermines his own argument by producing a text that reads like a connection of hyp
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Jul 04, 2009
Aaron
rated it:
"Create Your Own Inner Life" would have been a more accurate if less arresting title. By "prosperity" Cowen means rich interiority, not actually, you know, money. As long as you take him in the proper spirit you can extract a good deal from the book.
Feb 09, 2011
David
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As others have noted this book is very poorly served by its title. It's really Cowen's thoughts on human neurodiversity, particularly Autism and the Autism spectrum, and how recent cultural and technological changes have changed the status and importance of Autistic traits. Interesting and thought-provoking. Cowen overstates his case a bit, but if he hadn't, you'd probably wish he would.
Nov 29, 2009
Thirsty_Mind
rated it:
A very interesting read. A lot of great ideas about the value of the internet and modern culture; gets bogged down in the details of autism at some point.
Jul 22, 2009
Synopsis: The networked world is changing the way we think. The explosion of information gives humans a preference for smaller bites of information.
Oct 30, 2010
Deb
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I finished 70% of the book and it still seemed to be going nowhere. Some interesting facts and ideas but no enough to keep interest.
